Collider has published a ranked list of the most disturbing horror novels of all time, aimed at readers who feel horror films, TV and games no longer unsettle them. The list spans several decades and subgenres, mixing literary vampire fiction with apocalyptic and supernatural horror, and highlights books whose intensity has held up even as some have been adapted into film and television.

Entries include Let the Right One In (2004), John Ajvide Lindqvist's vampire tale blending dark coming-of-age themes with horror, which has spawned two film versions and a TV series; Robert McCammon's post-apocalyptic epic Swan Song (1987), which depicts nuclear devastation and survivors battling over what remains of civilisation; and Stephen King's short story collection Skeleton Crew (1985). The list continues down to a number one pick, with each entry accompanied by a brief explanation of why it earns its place among the genre's most unsettling works.